Science (really) is Wonderful! 2025
On March 13th and 14th, Jelena, Marko B., Antonia, and Marko Košiček (IRB’s PR expert) participated in the prestigious Science is Wonderful! fair, held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium.
Science is Wonderful! is an annual event organized by the European Commission to showcase groundbreaking research funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and the European Research Council (ERC). Its goal is to bring science closer to the public, especially primary and secondary school students, through interactive presentations, live experiments, discussions with researchers, games, quizzes, and much more.
Over two days, more than 4,500 students from across Belgium visited our booth, „How Do Ants Stay Cool?“, where we explored how ants adapt to global warming.
At our booth, children could observe a real ant colony (with finding the queen as a highlight), learn about the ants’ life cycle, and discover how colony roles are distributed. The most exciting part, however, was the thermal camera as a hands-on demonstration of our research. Kids were fascinated to learn that ants are cold-blooded, meaning their body temperature depends entirely on their environment. They enjoyed putting their hands in front of the thermal camera, and some even took a thermal selfie.
All in all, the Belgian kids were amazing! They were eager to answer questions, absorb fun facts, and even hold ants. Of course, some were disappointed when they discovered worker ants of some species live only for a few months – but that’s nature!
Beyond the cool activities, our biggest goal was to share why ants matter. If you need a reminder, they play a crucial role as decomposers, plus they aerate the soil through their tunnels. They also disperse seeds, support plant growth, and serve as food for countless organisms. Because they shape their surroundings, ants are often called ecosystem engineers.
We had an unforgettable time sharing knowledge with younger (and older) generations! The networking breaks, where we had the chance to talk with other scientists, were truly inspiring. There were researchers from various fields, from cybersecurity to scientists who spend half the year in Antarctica. We believe that Belgians had a wonderful opportunity and that they enjoyed spending time at all the booths.
And aside from science, we had to investigate Belgian delicacies thoroughly – so we came home a few kilos heavier.
Belgium, it was a pleasure – until next time!